By DONNA BALANCIA
This week’s new music brings a robust collection of veterans and upstarts, ranging from Garbage to Tayls and more. Check out the best of the week:
Garbage: No Gods No Masters
Garbage keeps its relevance in the world by staying in the limelight. Shirley Manson does her fair share in highlighting social issues and the band doesn’t change its tune with the latest work, No Gods No Masters.
With tracks like “The Men Who Rule the World,” “Waiting for God,” “A Woman Destroyed” and “Flipping the Bird,” it’s clear the band is communicating what people in lockdown have been feeling for the last year or so. Manson’s voice is clear and the message direct throughout this latest, great work.
Check out the Garbage Facebook page.
Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe
A project born from mutual respect, Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe mines electronic music and unearths an experimental sound for both of these veteran rockers.
A prolific artist and author, Mark Lanegan has collaborated with a host of bands and musicians, including UNKLE, Neko Case, The Duke Spirit and Queens of the Stone Age among many others.
DMvsSJ marks a new band for Lanegan, not a guest spot or featured artist.
“The fact that it’s not like anything either one of us have done before is what makes this so interesting for me,” Lanegan said. “When you have done as much stuff as Joe and I, you have to constantly search for the different and challenging to keep yourself engaged.”
With a predilection toward the darker shade of music, DMvsSJ leans heavily into midnight rhythms, inciting strains of Tones on Tail, Bauhaus, and IAMX.
“I just wanted to make some instrumentals that I thought Mark’s voice would shine on, something hard with space for Mark to let go,” said Joe Cardamone.
Barenaked Ladies: ‘New Disaster’
Barenaked Ladies announced that their 16th studio album Detour de Force will be released on July 16, and shared the single “New Disaster” which focuses on the craze and impact of the 24/7 news cycle. Check out the animated video for the new single to go alongside the track’s timely subject matter.
Watch the video for ‘New Disaster’ HERE
The video uses a graphic novel style presentation with comic book visual language to tell the story of the quintessential family unit who are watching the news. The mother and father are hypnotized by the TV screen and the son – by his mobile phone screen. However, the little girl sees past the screen and her spell is broken by the music of Barenaked Ladies. She becomes a part of the music and brings that joy back to the living room and liberates the hypnosis of the rest of her family.
Ed Robertson (Songwriter, lead singer, guitarist) says “New Disaster” has a special message to the media:
“It is about the distraction of modern politics coupled with the pressures of the 24-hour news cycle, which is so sensational, un-vetted and un-researched,” he said. “It seemed like the Nostradamus predictions of new disaster were getting worse and worse, even after we recorded the song.”
Pre-order / Pre-save/ or Pre- add Detour de Force: https://BNL.lnk.to/DetourdeForce
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barenakedladies
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/barenakedladies
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barenakedla…
Maroon 5 Debuts ‘Lost’
It’s a wild ride with “Lost” the latest video from Maroon 5. The band releases its new album this summer:
Listen on Spotify:
Curt Ramm Drops ‘Blue Wave’
Curt Ramm has released “Blue Wave” the second single off his upcoming album, Rogue Island, due out in July on Rocktorium Records.
You catch the new single here.
“Blue Wave gave me an opportunity to explore a funkier, bluesy vibe over this deep rooted Reggae groove,” Ramm said. “That groove let me create lots of space to really stretch out on during the trumpet solo.”
Rogue Island, born in the throes of 2020’s COVID-19 shutdowns, is a beacon of positivity and uplifting vibes. Ramm is one of the preeminent horn players in rock and roll. As well as being an in-demand studio session player, Ramm’s playing has kept him very busy over the years with electrifying live performances throughout the US, Europe and Japan.
Some of his recording and performance credits include Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen Sessions Band, Nile Rodgers and CHIC, They Might Be Giants, Radiohead, The Levon Helm Band, Glen Hansard and Little Steven.
Check him out at the Curt Ramm website.
Ava Earl Releases ‘Mountain Song’
June 11, 2021 – Ava Earl, an 18 year old songwriter and outdoor enthusiast hailing from Girdwood, Alaska, has released the second single “Mountain Song” from her forthcoming album titled The Roses which will be available on July 23rd.
“Mountain Song” is, in Earl’s own words, “about a real life experience that I had when I was a bit too confident in my mountain climbing skills. I usually pride myself in my spontaneity, but this experience reminds me that caution is a necessary consideration. This song is also about understanding my lack of control in the universe.”
The video is available for viewing here. Earl is known in Alaskan music circles and folk worlds nationally for her keen sense of self, intricate fingerpicking, and graceful melodies—“Mountain Song” being the perfect example of all three.
The Roses was recorded in Nashville and produced by JT Nero, one half of the Americana-outfit, Birds of Chicago and features hauntingly beautiful background vocals from Allison Russell and Awna Teixeira.
Monsterwatch Gets Attention with New Album ‘Noise’
Today, MONSTERWATCH share their EP Noise You Will Never Care About, out now on all DSPs. The noise band will be performing at Treefort Music Festival and Freakout Festival this fall.
Noise You Will Never Care About EP
TRACKLISTING
1. Let Go
2. Lick The Wall
3. Somewhere
4. Devil’s Cord (Hidden Track)
Tayls Drops ‘Have You Ever’ Single
Nashville-based outfit Tayls have released their new single “Have You Ever” today (June 11), the latest track off of their upcoming LP Have You Ever? I’ve Always, due out on July 30. Produced by Jake Ingalls (The Flaming Lips, Spaceface) and mixed by Calvin Lauber (Julien Baker), the group’s debut record combines elements of power-pop, indie rock and alt-country, already earning coverage from American Songwriter, Country Queer, Nashville Scene and many more.
Anthemic, heartfelt and joyful, “Have You Ever” finds Cole stripping away a colorful façade to explore the human insecurity that lurks within all of us. The support, both personally and creatively, found in his bandmates has served as an anchor for him through the more difficult chapters in life.
“‘Have You Ever’ is a love letter from me to my band and anyone who has shown me kindness and compassion,” Cole says. “I’m very aware of my own misgivings. I know where I come up short, but my friends always seem to have that other puzzle piece I’m looking for to move my life along.”
Tapping into the unstoppable energy that the members of Tayls create together on stage during their live shows, “Have You Ever” is propelled by Cole’s fierce vocals, funky piano, hypnotic bass and guitar. Violin and horns are cleverly weaved in too, creating a suprising soundscape that propells you to the dancefloor. At the same time, Tayls hits you right in the gut with lyrics that reminds us to hold onto the ones we love for the short time that we can.
Dany Laj and The Looks Release ‘Smile’
Dany Laj and The Looks’ third full length release is officially out with a brand new single they hope puts a “Smile” on listeners faces.
Ten Easy Pieces is the album, out now on We Are Busy Bodies Records and CD via Rum Bar Records.
Rum Bar Records will be going strong all summer long features all new and upcoming music from: Dany Laj and The Looks, Pale Lips/The Sorels (Split release), The Adam Brown, Geoff Palmer, French Girls, The Idolizers, Brad Marino, The Amplifier Heads, The Dents and more.
The Late Ones Give Reggae a New Twist
Conscious reggae/hip-hop hybrid band The Late Ones are known for using their music as a tool to speak out against oppression and injustice by bringing a youthful and powerful presence to the reggae community, along with a unique spin by bringing in old school hip hop to the mix.
Think of the Pharcyde, Souls of Mischief, and A Tribe Called Quest collaborating with The Mighty Diamonds or Culture, and you get a sense of what this band’s sound is like. The group’s 2020 EP Lately showcased their inspired music coupled with universal messages of love and hope, while standing up for social, racial, and economic equality for all. Now, The Late Ones are encouraging their reggae contemporaries to do the same on their new single and music video “Fake Reggae” (out June 4 on Easy Star Records).
Presented by Easy Star Records, directed by Kat Faith @ Mint Street Vision, Camera Op 1 – Rolando Ramirez, Camera Op 2 – Lex Lumens, Styled By Mint Street Mannequins, Lighting – David Veerman, Car provided by – Boy Sierra Streetwise LA.
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/thelateones/
Instagram: @The Late Ones
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/MgKuBqt…